Bergedorf () is the largest of the seven

boroughs A borough is an administrative division in various English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely. History In the Middle A ...

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; nds, label=Hamburg German, Low Saxon, Hamborg ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg (german: Freie und Hansestadt Hamburg; nds, label=Low Saxon, Friee un Hansestadt Hamborg),. is the List of cities in Germany by popul ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG),, is a country in Central Europe. It is the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany lies between the Baltic and North Sea to the north and the Alps to the sou ...

, named after Bergedorf quarter within this borough. In 2020 the population of the borough was 130,994.

History

The city of Bergedorf received

town privileges Town privileges or borough rights were important features of European towns during most of the second millennium. The city law customary in Central Europe probably dates back to Italian models, which in turn were oriented towards the traditio ...

in 1275, then a part of the younger

Duchy of Saxony The Duchy of Saxony ( nds, Hartogdom Sassen, german: Herzogtum Sachsen) was originally the area settlement geography, settled by the Saxons in the late Early Middle Ages, when they were subdued by Charlemagne during the Saxon Wars from 772 and in ...

(1180–1296), which was partitioned by its four co-ruling dukes in 1296 into the branch duchies of

Saxe-Lauenburg The Duchy of Saxe-Lauenburg (german: Herzogtum Sachsen-Lauenburg, called ''Niedersachsen'' (Lower Saxony) between the 14th and 17th centuries), was a ''reichsfrei'' duchy that existed from 1296–1803 and again from 1814–1876 in the extreme so ...

and

Saxe-Wittenberg The Duchy of Saxe-Wittenberg () was a medieval duchy of the Holy Roman Empire centered at Wittenberg, which emerged after the dissolution of the stem duchy of Saxony. The Ascanian dukes prevailed in obtaining the Saxon electoral dignity until ...

. Bergedorf then became part of the former. This was only to last until 1303, when Lauenburg's three co-ruling dukes, Albert III, Eric I, and John II partitioned their branch duchy into three smaller duchies. Eric then held Bergedorf (

Vierlande Vierlande is the name given to a roughly 77-square kilometre region in the Hamburg district of Bergedorf which has a population of 18,419 and comprises four quarters of the city. Its name goes back to the year 1556 and refers to the four ...

) and Lauenburg and inherited the share of his childless brother Albert III, Saxe-Ratzeburg, after he was already deceased in 1308 and a retained section from Albert's widow Margaret of Brandenburg-Salzwedel on her death. However, his other brother, John II, then claimed a part, so in 1321 Eric conceded Bergedorf (with Vierlande) to him, whose share thus became known thereafter as Saxe-Bergedorf-Mölln while Eric's was known as Saxe-Ratzeburg-Lauenburg. In 1370, John's fourth successor Eric III pawned the Herrschaft of

Bergedorf Bergedorf () is the largest of the seven boroughs of Hamburg, Germany, named after Bergedorf quarter within this borough. In 2020 the population of the borough was 130,994. History The city of Bergedorf received town privileges in 1275, then ...

, the Vierlande, half the Saxon Wood and

Geesthacht Geesthacht () is the largest city in the Lauenburg (district), District of the Duchy of Lauenburg (Herzogtum Lauenburg) in Schleswig-Holstein in Northern Germany, south-east of Hamburg on the right bank of the Elbe, River Elbe. History A church ...

Lübeck Lübeck (; Low German also ), officially the Hanseatic City of Lübeck (german: Hansestadt Lübeck), is a city in Northern Germany. With around 217,000 inhabitants, Lübeck is the second-largest city on the German Baltic coast and in the stat ...

in return for a credit of 16,262.5 Lübeck

marks Marks may refer to: Business * Mark's, a Canadian retail chain * Marks & Spencer, a British retail chain * Collective trade marks, trademarks owned by an organisation for the benefit of its members * Marks & Co, the inspiration for the nove ...

. This acquisition included much of the trade route between

and Lübeck, thus providing a safe passage for freight between the cities. Eric III only retained a life tenancy. The city of Lübeck and Eric III further stipulated, that upon his death, Lübeck would be entitled to take possession of the pawned areas until his successors repaid the credit and simultaneously exercised the repurchase of Mölln (contracted in 1359), altogether amounting to the then enormous sum of 26,000 Lübeck Marks. In 1401, Eric III died without issue and was succeeded by his second cousin Eric IV of Saxe-Ratzeburg-Lauenburg. In the same year, Eric IV, supported by his sons Eric (later ruling as Eric V) and

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Seco ...

, forcefully captured the pawned areas without making any repayment, before Lübeck could take possession of them. Lübeck acquiesced for the time being.Elisabeth Raiser, ''Städtische Territorialpolitik im Mittelalter: eine vergleichende Untersuchung ihrer verschiedenen Formen am Beispiel Lübecks und Zürichs'', Lübeck and Hamburg: Matthiesen, 1969, (Historische Studien; 406), p. 137, simultaneously: Hamburg, Univ., Diss., 1969. In 1420, Eric V attacked Prince-Elector

Frederick I of Brandenburg Frederick (Middle High German: ''Friderich','' Standard German: ''Friedrich''; 21 September 1371 – 20 September 1440) was the last Burgrave of Nuremberg from 1397 to 1427 (as Frederick VI), Margrave of Brandenburg-Ansbach from 1398, Mar ...

and Lübeck allied with Hamburg in support of

Brandenburg Brandenburg (; nds, Brannenborg; dsb, Bramborska ) is a state in the northeast of Germany bordering the states of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Saxony, as well as the country of Poland. With an area of 29,480 square ...

. Armies of both cities opened a second front and conquered Bergedorf, Riepenburg castle and the Esslingen river toll station (today's

Zollenspieker Ferry The Zollenspieker Ferry is a ferry across the Elbe river (here Unterelbe) in Germany. It crosses between ''Zollenspieker'', a part of the quarter Kirchwerder of the Bergedorf borough of the city-state of Hamburg, and ''Hoopte'', part of the town ...

) within weeks. This forced Eric V to agree with Hamburg's burgomaster

Hein Hoyer Hein Hoyer (lat. ''Hinricus Hoyeri'') (c. 1380 in Hamburg – 12 May 1447 in Hamburg) was a German statesman and mayor of Hamburg. His family belonged to the local upper class and Hoyer was elected as a member of the ''Rat'' (board/council), where ...

and

Burgomaster Burgomaster (alternatively spelled burgermeister, literally "master of the town, master of the borough, master of the fortress, master of the citizens") is the English form of various terms in or derived from Germanic languages for the chief ...

Jordan Pleskow of Lübeck to the

Peace of Perleberg Peace is a concept of societal friendship and harmony in the absence of hostility and violence. In a social sense, peace is commonly used to mean a lack of conflict (such as war) and freedom from fear of violence between individuals or groups. ...

on 23 August 1420, which stipulated that all the pawned areas, which Eric IV, Eric V and John IV had violently taken in 1401, were to be irrevocably ceded to the cities of Hamburg and Lübeck.

Hamburg-Lübeck Condominium

The cities transformed the acquired areas into the "Beiderstädtischer Besitz" (bi-urban

condominium A condominium (or condo for short) is an ownership structure whereby a building is divided into several units that are each separately owned, surrounded by common areas that are jointly owned. The term can be applied to the building or complex ...

; cooperatively governed possession), ruled by bailiffs in four year terms, alternately staffed by one of the cities. In 1446 the bailiffs' terms were increased to six years, and in 1620 to life terms. In 1542 bailiff Ditmar Koel introduced the

Protestant Reformation The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and in ...

in the co-governed municipalities. The area was formally annexed to the

First French Empire The First French Empire, officially the French Republic, then the French Empire (; Latin: ) after 1809, also known as Napoleonic France, was the empire ruled by Napoleon Bonaparte, who established French hegemony over much of continental ...

as part of Bouches de l'Elbe département between 1811 and 1813. Thereafter, the area was restored to Hamburg and Lübeck, both sovereign states. The first railway in

Northern Germany Northern Germany (german: link=no, Norddeutschland) is a linguistic, geographic, socio-cultural and historic region in the northern part of Germany which includes the coastal states of Schleswig-Holstein, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and Lower Saxony an ...

was opened between Hamburg and Bergedorf by the Hamburg-Bergedorf Railway Company in 1842. In the 1860s the Condominium issued its own postage stamps. In 1863 the condominium measured 1039,99 million square Hamburg foot (1 Hamburg foot =286,57 mm), of which 947,34 million sqft were Bergedorf city and the four

municipalities ( Altengamme, Curslack, Kirchwerder and Neuengamme) and 92,65 million sqft of

(since 1937 no part of today's borough of Bergedorf anymore).''Statistik des Hamburgischen Staats'', Statistisches Bureau der Deputation für directe Steuern (ed.), 'Heft I. Ergebnisse der Volkszählung vom 3^ten December 1866 - Stand der Bevölkerung', Hamburg: Kümpel, 1867
p. 1

Hamburg rural seigniory

Effective of 1 January 1868 Lübeck sold its share in the bi-urban condominium to the

Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg Hamburg (, ; nds, label=Hamburg German, Low Saxon, Hamborg ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg (german: Freie und Hansestadt Hamburg; nds, label=Low Saxon, Friee un Hansestadt Hamborg),. is the List of cities in Germany by popul ...

for 200,000 Prussian thaler. Hamburg integrated the area into its state territory, forming there the ''Landherrenschaft Bergedorf'' (i.e. Bergedorf rural seigniory) comprising the cities of Bergedorf and

and a number of rural municipalities not integrated into the city of Hamburg proper. By the

Greater Hamburg Act The Greater Hamburg Act (german: Groß-Hamburg-Gesetz), in full the Law Regarding Greater Hamburg and Other Territorial Readjustments (german: Gesetz über Groß-Hamburg und andere Gebietsbereinigungen), was passed by the government of Nazi Germa ...

of 1937 the

exclave An enclave is a territory (or a small territory apart of a larger one) that is entirely surrounded by the territory of one other state or entity. Enclaves may also exist within territorial waters. ''Enclave'' is sometimes used improperly to deno ...

of Geesthacht was ceded to

Schleswig-Holstein Schleswig-Holstein (; da, Slesvig-Holsten; nds, Sleswig-Holsteen; frr, Slaswik-Holstiinj) is the northernmost of the 16 states of Germany, comprising most of the historical duchy of Holstein and the southern part of the former Duchy of Sc ...

Bergedorf Borough of Hamburg

On 1 April 1938 Bergedorf city and the other municipalities became the ''Borough of Bergedorf'', an integrated part of the city of Hamburg. Bergedorf is also known by its nickname ''Garden of Hamburg''.

Geography

The borough of Bergedorf consists of the quarters

Allermöhe Allermöhe () is a quarter in the borough Bergedorf of the Free and Hanseatic city of Hamburg in northern Germany. The quarter consists of a rural area and the old settlement Allermöhe. In 2020 the population was 1,392 (without the new neighbourh ...

, Altengamme,

, Billwerder, Curslack, Kirchwerder, Lohbrügge, Moorfleet, Neuallermöhe (a new quarter since January 2011). Neuengamme, Ochsenwerder, Reitbrook, Spadenland and Tatenberg. In 2017 the city of Hamburg started planning the new quarter Oberbillwerder which is located in today's Billwerder. In 2006, according to the statistical office of Hamburg and Schleswig-Holstein, the borough of Bergedorf has a total area of . Today's quarter is the old city Bergedorf, located on the river Bille, a right tributary of the

Elbe The Elbe (; cs, Labe ; nds, Ilv or ''Elv''; Upper and dsb, Łobjo) is one of the major rivers of Central Europe. It rises in the Giant Mountains of the northern Czech Republic before traversing much of Bohemia (western half of the Czech Rep ...

Demographics

In 2006, 118,942 people were living in Bergedorf borough. The population density was . 19.3% were children under the age of 18, and 18.2% were 65 years of age or older. 9.6% were immigrants. 6,027 people were registered as unemployed.Residents registration office, source: statistical office Nord of Hamburg and Schleswig-Holstein (2006) In 1999 there were 51,752 households and 34.6% of all households were made up of individuals.Source: statistical office Nord of Hamburg and Schleswig-Holstein (1999) According to the Department of Motor Vehicles (Kraftfahrt-Bundesamt), there were 48,003 private cars registered (406 cars/1000 people) in the borough of Bergedorf.Source: statistical office Nord of Hamburg and Schleswig-Holstein (2006) There were 22 elementary schools, 16 secondary schools, 184 physicians in private practice, and 23 pharmacies in the borough of Bergedorf. These numbers include the Bergedorf quarter.

Assembly of the borough

The ''Bezirksversammlung'' is elected as representatives of the citizens, simultaneously with elections to the

European Parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of the legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it adop ...

. It consists of 45 representatives.

Elections

, - ! colspan="2" style="text-align:left;" , Parties ! % ! ± ! Seats , - , style="background-color:" , , style="text-align:left;" ,

Social Democratic Party The name Social Democratic Party or Social Democrats has been used by many political parties in various countries around the world. Such parties are most commonly aligned to social democracy as their political ideology. Active parties Fo ...

, 26.4 , 12.9 , style="text-align:center;" , 12 , - , style="background-color:" , , style="text-align:left;" , Christian Democratic Union , 24.3 , 4.2 , style="text-align:center;" , 11 , - , style="background-color:" , , style="text-align:left;" ,

Alliance 90/The Greens Alliance 90/The Greens (german: Bündnis 90/Die Grünen, ), often simply referred to as the Greens ( ), is a green political party in Germany. It was formed in 1993 as the merger of The Greens (formed in West Germany in 1980) and Alliance 90 (for ...

, 21.9 , 9.6 , style="text-align:center;" , 10 , - , style="background-color:" , , style="text-align:left;" , The Left , 10.5 , 1.3 , style="text-align:center;" , 5 , - , style="background-color:" , , style="text-align:left;" ,

Alternative for Germany Alternative for Germany (german: link=no, Alternative für Deutschland, AfD; ) is a right-wing populist * * * * * * * political party in Germany. AfD is known for its opposition to the European Union, as well as immigration to Germany ...

, 8.5 , 4.0 , style="text-align:center;" , 4 , - , style="background-color:" , , style="text-align:left;" ,

Free Democratic Party Free Democratic Party is the name of several political parties around the world. It usually designates a party ideologically based on liberalism. Current parties with that name include: *Free Democratic Party (Germany), a liberal political party in ...

, 5.5 , 3.3 , style="text-align:center;" , 3 , - , style="background-color:#0085FF" , , style="text-align:left;" ,

Free Voters Free Voters (german: Freie Wähler, FW or FWG) in Germany may belong to an association of people which participates in an election without having the status of a registered political party. Usually it involves a locally organized group of voters ...

, 2.9 , 2.9 , style="text-align:center;" , 0 , - ! colspan="2" style="text-align:left;" , Total ! style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", ! style="text-align:center;" , 45

Postage stamps

The Bi-Urban Condominium ( see above), or Bergedorf, respectively, its capital and the seat of its postal service ''Beiderstädtische Post'' (Bi-Urban Mail), founded on 1 April 1847, is of note to

philatelist Philately (; ) is the study of postage stamps and postal history. It also refers to the collection and appreciation of stamps and other philatelic products. Philately involves more than just stamp collecting or the study of postage; it is pos ...

s because it issued its own

postage stamp A postage stamp is a small piece of paper issued by a post office, postal administration, or other authorized vendors to customers who pay postage (the cost involved in moving, insuring, or registering mail), who then affix the stamp to the ...

s between 1861 and 1867. According to the census of March 1863 the Bi-Urban Condominium had a population of 12,468 souls, of which 2,957 lived in Bergedorf city (the rest lived in the other five municipalities of the condominium), making it by far the German territory with the smallest population to issue stamps. The issue included 5 square stamps with denominations from ½ to 4 schillings. All used the same design - a combined

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldic visual design on an escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central element of the full heraldic achievement, which in it ...

of the Free Cities of Lübeck and

(the two city states which were the sovereign lords over the Bi-Urban Condominium) - but the higher values were larger stamps. All values were printed in black on different coloured papers, except for the 3s stamp, which was printed in blue on pink paper. With Lübeck's sale of its share in the condominium to Hamburg in 1867 the territory was integrated into the adjacent city state of Hamburg as the ''Rural Seigniory of Bergedorf'' and the separate Bi-Urban Mail became part of Hamburg's postal service without any more separate stamps. Hamburg, including its Rural Seigniory of Bergedorf began using stamps of the

North German Confederation The North German Confederation (german: Norddeutscher Bund) was initially a German military alliance established in August 1866 under the leadership of the Kingdom of Prussia, which was transformed in the subsequent year into a confederated st ...

in 1868. Since the Bi-Urban Condominium had such a small population, relatively few of these stamps were made, and even fewer used; the price of unused stamps is from US$30–$50, while genuinely used stamps go for US$300–$2,000. Reprints, forgeries, and especially faked cancellations are quite common.

Notable structures

Stolpersteine Bergedorf Dr Naftali Lewensohnx600

* Church "St. Petri and Pauli" * Fernmeldeturm Hamburg-Bergedorf * Transmitter Hamburg-Billstedt * Hamburger Sternwarte also called Hamburg-Bergedorf Observatory * Schloss Bergedorf

Notable people

Ida Boy-Ed Ida Boy-Ed (17 April 1852 – 13 May 1928) was a German writer. A supporter of women's issues, she wrote widely-read books and newspaper articles. Early years Ida Cornelia Ernestina Ed was born in Bergedorf in 1852 to a supportive family who e ...

(1852–1928), writer *

Johann Adolph Hasse Johann Adolph Hasse (baptised 25 March 1699 – 16 December 1783) was an 18th-century German composer, singer and teacher of music. Immensely popular in his time, Hasse was best known for his prolific operatic output, though he also composed a co ...

, (1699–1783), composer *

Alfred Lichtwark Alfred Lichtwark (14 November 1852 – 13 January 1914) was a German art historian, museum curator, and art educator in Hamburg. He is one of the founders of museum education and the art education movement. Background and career Alfred Lic ...

(1852–1914), director of the ''Hamburger Kunsthalle'' *

Ferdinand Pfohl Ferdinand Pfohl (; 12 October 1862, Elbogen, Bohemia, Austria-Hungary, now Loket n.O., Czech Republic – 16 December 1949, Hamburg-Bergedorf), was a German music critic, music writer and composer. Pfohl studied law at Prague, then in Leip ...

(1862–1949), music critic, music writer and composer *

Jack Pferdeschwanz Jack may refer to: Places * Jack, Alabama, US, an unincorporated community * Jack, Missouri, US, an unincorporated community * Jack County, Texas, a county in Texas, USA People and fictional characters * Jack (given name), a male given name, ...

(1996), entertainer, curling player

References

;General sources
Statistisches Amt für Hamburg und Schleswig-Holstein, official website
(in German)

Bibliography

* Harald Richert: ''Bergedorf - eine selbständige Stadt''. In: '' Lichtwark'' Nr. 54. Hrsg. Lichtwark-Ausschuß, Bergedorf, 1991. Jetzt: Verlag HB-Werbung, Hamburg-Bergedorf. .

External links

Bergedorf homepage (in German)

Bergedorf Round Table of the Koerber Foundation

privat Bergedorf Citypage (in German)
{{Authority control Boroughs of Hamburg